The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1887-01-05
CHILD WIDOWS IN INDIA.

Two Millions Of Women Condemned to Penancs.
From the London Times.
The recent telegram announcing
Lord Dufferin's decision regarding
Hindoo widow marriages receives EN-
phasis from the outbursts OF fanatical
hostility which are agitating Northern
India.
The decision arrived at is char
acteristic alike OF the statesman
who now presides over India and OF
the new point OF view from which the
Indian government regards questions
OF internal reform. Lord Dufferin ex-
presses genuine sympathy for the
party OF progress, but he does not
allow his sympathy to blind him to
the grave political difficulties OF the
case.
There are over 10000, 900 OF wild
ows in India, and 100000 OF them
belong to castles who practice child
marriage and insist on the ceibacy Of
their widows These customs are not
enforced with equal rigor in all parts
of India, nor among the castles who
follow them. But, broadly speaking,
there are about 2,000,0 900 Indian
women OF good family who are con-
demned to life OF penance or OF
shame
This, however, is a very mild state
ment OF the case. For it must be re-
fme pbered that the cruelty OF reinforced
widowhood in India is aggravated by
the Circumstance that n vast number
OF widows have only been wives in
name. In Bengal 271 Hindoo girls
out OF every thousand between the
ages of five and ten arc married, and
, no fewer than 666 are returned as
married between the ages OF ten and
fourteen. This applies to the general
HIndoo population. But among the
higher castles, who enforce the celibacy
of their widows, the proportion is
much higher. Practically every Hin
doc girl OF good caste is either q wife
or q widow before she reaches the age
OF Ia. In thousands, indeed in hun
dreds OF thousands, OF cases the child
has never known what it is to be n
wife. The most orthodox idea is that
girl should be given in marriage be-
fore the sense OF natural modesty
arises. For canonical purposes this
was taken to be her eighth year. The
marriage is not consummated till she
reaches the age OF about 2; and mean
while, ii the husband dies, she is con-
la,,pal IN n life If oalihocy
1t is essential for the honor OF u
Hindoo family of good caste that it
should contain no unmarried daugh-
ter OF mature years. The existence OF
such daughter is not only social
disgrace, but areligious crime. When,
therefore, a female infant is born, the
first idea in her fathers mind is not
one of pleasure, nor perhaps regret,
but simply how to find n husband for
her. 1t is not necessary that she
should become wife in our sense OF
the word 1t suilices that she should
be given in marriage and go through
the ceremony OF the Seven Steps,
which completes the religious rite
Aged Brahmans OF good family still
go about the country marrying, for
pecuniary consideration, female in
fants whom they sometimes never see
again. Within the memory OF men
still living this abominable practice
was u hourishing trade. A Kulin
Brahman, perhaps whlte-haired, half
blind, and decrepit, went the round
OF his beat each spring, going through
the ceremony OF marriage with such
female infants as were offered, and
pocketing his fee, and perhaps never
returned to the chid's house.
So long as he lived she could marry
no other man; when he died she be-
came n widow for life. The Hinuoo
child widow is looked upon rs a thing
apart and accursed, bearing the pen
atty in this world for sins which she
has committed in a past existence.
Her hair is cut short or her head is
shaved altogether; she exchanges her
pretty childish clothes for the widows
coarse and often squalid garment; she
is forbidden to take part in any viii
lage festival or family gathering; the
very sight OF her is regarded as an i'll
omen. Her natural woman's in.
stincts are starved into inanition by
constant fasts, sometimes prolonged
to ~ hours. Amid the genial and
brightly colored life OF the Hindoo
family she fits about disarrayed, 81
lent, Stunned, disfgured-in some
parts OF India hideously bald object |
forbidden all ioy and all hope.